A Sacrifice for Paradise
by sharp-shooter-Spike
Summary: As usual, the gang is traveling, except they have a new companion. Who is this strange newcomer, and why does she smell so much like Hige? Read and find out! R&R.
1. The Finding

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Wolf's Rain or any of it's characters, which causes me great pain; nonetheless, I must go on._

This is my first fic, so go easy on me? PLZZ?!?! No flames plz...............................

Here goes.

**A SACRIFICE FOR PARADISE**

**Chapter 1 The Finding**

"It seems as though the walking and the snowfall are the only things certain in life," thought Tsume as he walked behind Kiba. He looked back now and then to check on the younger wolves behind him. Kiba wouldn't let them stop until they reached the shelter of the trees about 9 miles north of them, so Hige and Toboe were beginning to lag behind. By the time they reached the entrance to the small forest, it was well past nightfall, but the snow was still falling so the moon could not be seen.

They found a small cave and made camp. As soon as they were settled in, Tsume volunteered to go hunting; neither Hige nor Toboe offered to go with him, insisting that they were too hungry to move, so Kiba said he would go. He didn't know why, because he normally wouldn't care, but he had a feeling that he should go.

They made sure that the fire had enough wood, then headed off, leaving Toboe and Hige laughing at each others jokes. Their wait was mostly uneventful except for the snowball fight that left Toboe with a bloody nose. Tsume and Kiba, on the other hand, found a lot more than food.

As they walked through the forest, looking for anything edible, they began to smell something strange.

"Do you smell that," asked Kiba. "It's vaguely familiar, don't you agree?" When Tsume made no return comment, he decided to drop the subject, but he remembered the surroundings so that he could check it out later; perhaps when he wasn't so hungry.

A few hours later, after having caught three regular sized hares, they passed the area with the strange aroma again. This time, Tsume was in a little bit better mood after his kills, so he reintroduced lingering scent.

"Yes," was all that came from him. Kiba, who had forgotten his earlier question, was extremely perplexed.

"Yes to what?"

"Yes, it does smell familiar, but I can't place it."

They started to really search for it, but instead of being in just one place, it seemed to be concentrated everywhere. Just when they were about to give up and get back to camp, Kiba tripped over what he first thought was a root. He soon figured that it wasn't, since roots don't turn over and groan.

"Hey, Tsume, Over here," yelled Kiba over his shoulder, while examining the strange creature. Either it was very large or it was wrapped up very generously. Tsume came over, picked up a stick, and poked what looked like the side of the large pile. This seemed to have no effect on it, so he touched it with his finger.

"It's cloth. We pull it off on three," whispered Tsume.

"One...two...THREE!" As the cloth unraveled, it revealed a girl of about eleven, with shaggy, light, brown hair, and a light complexion.

"What are you going to do with her?"

"We are going to take her back. She'll die out here, and besides, don't you smell that?"

"Yea,...ok...but only because of the smell." So Kiba scooped her up in his arms, and carried her back to their temporary settlement.

You like??? I hope so. Chapter 2 coming soon, but 0 reviews means no 2!! So R &R plzzzz!


	2. Identity Unveiled

_Thanks for all the reviews! A special thanks to Exile-the-Magnificent, odd-12345, and Whiskers. Here's what you've been waiting for...on with the story!_

**CHAPTER 2 IDENTITY UNVEILED**

As the wolves, carrying the strange new girl, approached the cave where they had left their younger companions, the girl began to stir, but she did not wake up. When they arrived at their destination, Hige and Toboe lost their appetites to pure curiosity.

"Who is this?" "Where did she come from?" "Is she alive?"

Kiba and Tsume were bombarded with questions coming from both directions. Finally, Tsume lost his nerve and yelled "SHUT UP! Everyone just shut up." Kiba carried the little girl into the cave and laid her down near the back; then, he took his jacket off and wrapped it around her to keep her warm. He hoped she would wake up soon; he could not stave off all the questions for long.

A few hours later, as the pack was finishing their supper and the last fleeting rays of sunlight filled the cave the girl awoke with a start. Her eyes were large and staring, and all four preoccupied wolves, in human form, looked at her, and somehow knew that she was destined to be part of their pack.

Kiba was the first to go and greet her and ask questions.

"Who are you?" he asked in a friendly tone.

"My name is Shiggaru," she answered shyly.

"Do you know where you are Shiggaru?" To this she shook her head slowly, while making eye contact with only the floor. Toboe started to get up, but Kiba waved him back down. Shiggaru didn't need anymore questions than he was going to ask her.

"Alright Shiggaru, we're going to play a game. I will ask you a question, then you ask me a question, that way we both get information on each other." She seemed to like this idea, and looked up to see who she was talking to. It was then that Kiba noticed, that the girl had two different colored eyes. One was a deep blue, with just a tinge of gray, and the other was the golden brown of a wolf, but he would have know if she were a wolf; he would have felt it.

"I already asked my question, so it is your turn."

"My question is are you going to eat me, yell at me, call mean names, or spit at me?"

"No! Of course not. Why would you think that we would do things like that?"

"Because you are wolves and that is what all of the wolves do to me." All of them had been listening, and now all of their mouths dropped open in pure amazement.

"Why would you think that we are wolves. Wolves are extinct," said Hige coolly.

"I just know. You smell like a wolf ."

"How could you smell something that vague," asked Tsume, abnormally interested. She just shrugged and answered vaguely, without too much enthusiasm.

"Don't know, but I have been able to since I was born."

After this comment, she noticed something that she hadn't before; the boy sitting near the back, with a yellow sweatshirt on, was wearing a collar that she remembered faintly, from somewhere a long time ago. She stood up and walked over to him, and asked the most unlikely of questions.

"Where did you get that collar from?" she inquired sweetly.

"I've had it since I was born. My mother had some kind of a strange obsession with human accessories, that I could never figure out."

"I don't remember very much of my mother," Shiggaru said sadly. "The only thing I remember is when she was killed by hunters, the pack wouldn't let us come back.

"Who is 'us'?" asked Kiba.

"Oh, I have an older brother. When we were exiled, he promised that he would never let anything happen to me. Then, while we were in a forest somewhere, there was a big fire and we got separated. I've been searching for him ever since."

Hige suddenly got very pale and he stared at her not believing what he had just heard. Toboe saw the strange look on Hige's face and had to find out what was going on.

"What is the matter Hige?"

"I had forgotten," was all that he said.

**Ahahahahahah.... I love being mean! Sorry this one took so long to write, but school is killing me. I'll do better next time, I promise! Please R&R!**


	3. Proof

_I'm sooooooo sorry it took so long. Thanks all, for the inspiring reviews! You love me, you really love me! tears of joy sorry, it's just so cool, but I know you're impatient, so I won't keep you waiting._

**Chapter 3 Proof**

FLASHBACK

"Hige! Take your sister and hide in those bushes," said Hige's mother, facing a field with hunters holding guns, and they were running right towards the family of wolves. Hige did as he was told and grabbed Shiggaru by the nape of her neck, dragging her into the cover of underbrush. There they crouched and watched as their mother was brutally shot to death, then skinned to use as clothing for stuck up women with money.

When all of the carnage was over, Hige grabbed Shiggaru, threw her over his back, and ran, not giving her enough time to look at what was left of their mother's remains. He ran for what seemed like hours, until they finally reached their clan's dwelling. By this time though, Shiggaru was sound asleep. All of the wolves stared at them since they were never seen without their mother.

"Where's yer mommy?" asked the newly appointed leader.

"Shut up Relso, unless you want to go scrape her remains up off the ground," Hige answered harshly, but quietly so as not to wake his sleeping sister.

"Get out now," Relso yelled.

Now that their mother was gone, so was their link to the clan. None of the pack would accept them. So, Hige turned around the way he had come from, and headed off to find a new life for the young orphans.

END FLASHBACK

Hige saw all of this flash in front of his eyes. But, he couldn't be sure about her unless he saw the proof. He jumped up, grabbed Shiggaru, and took her outside under the light of the moon. He turned her around so that he faced her back, and he lifted her shirt to about her mid back. There it was, a long scar that covered the length of her lower back. That's what he was looking for.

When Shiggaru was a cub, Relso had tried to murder her. He despised Hige's mother for loving a human instead of him, so he decided to try and kill off her link to the humans so she would love him. It didn't work, she hated him, and he took his revenge on her children when she was gone.

Hige turned Shiggaru around, looked into her different colored eyes, and bent down gripping her in a tight hug.

Kiba, Toboe, and Tsume had been watching the whole time, and knew immediately that Shiggaru would be traveling with them from then on. They all went back into the cave, and Hige and Shiggaru spent the rest of the night catching up on old times.

_Sorry, I know it's kind of boring, but the next one will be much better, I promise. Keep reviewing, it boosts my confidence._


	4. Taken

_I know...I know...It was short, and kind of boring, but very necessary. So, I guess what I am trying to say is DEAL WITH IT! There is a mistake in the first and second chapters, and if you find it, I'll find a way to slip you into one of my chapters . Time to begin our tale again..._

**Chapter 4 Taken**

After many exciting tales about what both Hige and Shiggaru had been doing while separated, they both fell into a deep sleep from which they would soon be awakened.

Not very far away, just beyond sight of the trees in fact, waited in hiding, a tribe of huntsmen raised from the cradle to recognize, and kill on sight, all or any wolves they happened to come upon. These huntsman knew how to cloak their smell and move as softly as a jack rabbit in the snow. This explains how they had been following the cunning quartet for a fortnight, and not yet been discovered.

Finally they had their chance, they would attack before dawn. The only flaw in their plan was that the girl had heard them a few days back, when one of the bowmen got careless. She would know they were coming, and this they would have to plan for.

Still asleep, no one saw the three thin, yet muscular men standing at the entrance to the cave. They snuck into the opening, and to the very back and, without being noticed, they gagged Shiggaru, and carried her out of their little shelter.

As the pack awoke, they immediately realized that something was amiss. When the huntsmen saw that their pray was awakening, they could not wait for backup, and attacked full force, before anyone knew what was happening.

The biggest one was holding a spear, and he had been watching them long enough to know that Kiba was the leader of the pack, so he lunged at him head on. Luckily for Kiba, he was, by now, awake enough to access the situation. He ducked to the right, and the spear became lodged in the side wall. This large, and fairly savage hunter, then decided that it was time to use his fists, but because he was so large, his swing was clumsy and off balance. The moment he was turned around, Kiba (in his wolf form) threw himself on his attacker, and bit deep into the jugular, causing almost instant death.

The two smaller ones headed for Tsume, Hige and Toboe. One charged, fist first at Toboe, who wasn't paying attention for squat.

"Watch out!" yelled Tsume as he pushed him away from what would have most likely been the end of Toboe's face. He tackled the assaulter to the ground, and started flinging punches like crazy. Of course, this wasn't enough, so he turned wolf and tore the little hunter to pieces.

After both of the killers were dead, they realized that Shiggaru was missing.

"Where's Shiggaru?" asked Hige looking around the blood bath. She was nowhere to be seen. He was not going to let something horrible happen to his little sister just when he had found her.

They all ran to the outside of the cave, and started calling Shiggaru's name. Hige sniffed the air around him, and found which direction she was taken. He ran off, and sensing why, Tsume, Toboe, and Kiba followed after him.

Cool huh? I'm new to fight scenes, so review and tell me how I did. I love you guys!!. Sry it took so long to write this one! My brother kicked me off-line, so hope you enjoyed and the next one will be up soon...I hope.


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